Wednesday, September 26, 2012

To the untrained eye this might just look like Diego-san in a relaxed state. To my eye it is a taunt- a "I think I'll just take a nap while you go off and work your job in order to pay for the dinner I'll eat when I wake from my nap" pose.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

One of my friends works for a great dane rescue organization. She asked me if I'd have any interest in fostering a great dane. "They get along great with cats," she informed me. We took a house vote and the result was 3-1 against. The one yes vote was Theo's. He thought it would be a blast chasing a great dane all over the house.

Friday, September 21, 2012

I don't know why I think this, and I'll be the first to admit it's probably unfair, but when Thompson and Diego-san rest inside a confined area I usually think part of the reason is to avoid being pounced on unexpectedly by their younger brother. When Theo rests inside a confined area, I often think it's to be hidden so he can pounce on a surprised brother who might happen to stroll by the area.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The boyz should be happy to know that my dorky behavior extends beyond the walls of our house. On my scooter ride to work I pass through several suburbs. When I hit the border of a suburb I've taken to calling out at the top of my lungs, "Hello people of..." I'm sure everyone in earshot must enjoy that as much as the boyz enjoy my incessant yammering when I'm at home.

I don't think the boyz would disagree about being "more typically described as independent" but don't mention to them that they're not supposed to be so welcoming of me when I get home...

Cat in condo? OK. Companion dog? No way

by Dan Browning
The age-old question of which is better, cats or dogs, has landed in federal
court in Minneapolis.

The unusual issue has provoked a big legal fight between a disabled
Minneapolis woman and the board overseeing a condominium where she's been a
longtime resident.

Diane Orenstein's doctor, her psychologist and her social worker all say that
a trained "companion dog" would help the 55-year-old woman cope with anxiety,
depression and social isolation that she suffers because of brain damage.

But the Calhoun-Isles Condominium Association isn't buying it.

The association forbids dogs in the high-rise units where Orenstein lives,
and has refused six requests in the past 18 months to make a special
accommodation. "The Association encourages Ms. Orenstein to consider the
therapeutic benefits that keeping a cat may provide," an attorney for the group
wrote in response to her requests. Condominium rules allow cats and small birds
in her building, but not dogs.

Orenstein's attorneys with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid filed a discrimination
lawsuit alleging that the condo association and Gittleman Management Corp. are
violating the federal Fair Housing Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act by
refusing to make special accommodations for Orenstein's disability.

Gittleman, based in Bloomington, manages 34 townhouses and 109 high-rise
apartment-style units in a complex just north of Lake Calhoun.

Orenstein declined a request to be interviewed or photographed, said Michael
Fargione, Legal Aid's litigation director.

"Ordinary events can lead to her feeling overwhelmed and can put her into a
downward spiral in which it becomes difficult for her to engage in any of her
normal activities. Her becoming anxious and upset leads to isolation and
withdrawal," Fargione wrote in an exhibit he filed with the suit.

The Social Security Administration determined that Orenstein qualified for
disability benefits as of mid-May, although her condition has existed since she
suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall in 2006 and another in 2010.

Why a dog?

Karen Larson-Hahn, a psychologist with Courage Center, wrote a letter
supporting Orenstein's efforts to get a companion dog, as did Dr. Ayesha Rehman,
a psychiatrist at Hennepin County Medical Center.

"Caring for a dog would provide meaning and the unconditional love offered by
a dog and would help to improve self-esteem and reduce stress. The deed to walk
a dog daily for exercise would provide physical and emotional benefit for
Diane," Larson-Hahn wrote.

Tanya Kern, her clinical social worker, said a having a dog would make
"significant therapeutic benefits."
Orenstein wants to get a small dog called a Cavalier King Charles spaniel
from Puppy Love Caring Canines in Hugo. The breed typically weighs about 15
pounds, the size of a large cat, and has an affectionate disposition, said Grete
Krause, who founded Puppy Love 12 years ago to custom-train service dogs.

"They always are smiling at you," she said.

Krause said her companion dogs help people who have depression and anxiety
disorders to focus on something outside of themselves. During walks, dogs spark
social interactions that help people who tend to isolate themselves, she
said.

"I've known people with cats that have similar benefits," Krause said. "But
you don't have to take a cat outside to go for a walk."

Legal fencing

Orenstein's lawyers have been trying to get the condominium association to
relax its "no dogs" rule since July 2011. They argued that accommodating her
request wouldn't cost the association any money.

Attorneys for the association demanded more and more evidence that Orenstein
was disabled. They noted that residents of the high-rise must share common areas
and a dog creates the potential for damage, additional cleanup work for staff,
and potential conflicts with other residents.

Orenstein's lawyers then proposed a four-month trial period.

"The Association does not conduct behavioral evaluations," replied Jeffrey R.
Underhill, one of the association's attorneys, in a letter last October.

Underhill continued to question whether Orenstein met the legal threshold for
disability accommodations even after her attorneys notified him that she was
approved by the Social Security Administration for disability benefits. In a
letter last July, he wrote that neither Orenstein nor her psychologist seem to
have considered "the benefits a cat would provide."

"The medical professionals have not suggested a cat," he wrote. "As a
species, cats are certainly not noted for welcoming an owner home from work or
enjoying a walk on a leash. The psychologist's characterization of benefits from
the 'unconditional love offered by a dog' is not typically applied to cats,
which are more typically described as independent," he said.

Orenstein's lawsuit seeks a judgment declaring that the defendants have
violated her civil rights. She seeks unspecified monetary damages for violating
the law, plus compensatory damages of $250 a month for every month going forward
that she's not allowed to have a dog, plus attorney fees and costs.

Einar Hanson, a Red Wing attorney who represents the nonprofit condo
association, said his clients hold no ill will toward Orenstein. But the condo's
board members believe they must enforce the rules that were established for the
"community of owners" in the high-rise, he said.

"It's not something that the board relishes, having to be in this situation,"
Hanson said.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

For Frank Sinatra, Saturday nights were the loneliest night of the week. That's because that was the night he and his baby used to dance cheek to cheek. Thompson doesn't mind Saturday nights. It's usually one of the few nights of the week everyone in the house are all present and accounted for...

I told Theo he has the sweetest face in the world. I think this alarmed him because he's heard me talk about how sweet milk duds are and he knows I'm a milk dud junkie and he really doesn't want me to eat his face.